Alas poor Alec, let's learn to halt the cull (28 June 1999)

28 June 1999

Alas poor Alec, let's learn to halt the cull

Mark Nicholas

I wonder what Alec Stewart makes of the merry-go-round. A year ago he was all things to all men and doing fine. The dogfight against South Africa was taking shape and would ultimately turn his way. Australia lay in wait, but the talk was not filled by fear, it was upbeat and reasonably so. If South Africa could give the Aussies a run for their money and we can beat South Africa then.... the Gaffer must have thought the job was his in perpetuity.

Poor Alec, we knew it would end in tears but he could not see it. This morning, just a few weeks after he controlled the pulse of the England team, he is lucky to be in it at all. How he must have wondered exactly where the wheels came off. How he must have wished that he had delegated. If he is not in the runs soonest he will be on the sidelines.

Perhaps this is a natural culling, perhaps this is the most obvious moment to re-think a culture which plagues English cricket. England have chopped and changed so often during the calamity years that it has not been possible for a team to develop in the way of South Africa or Australia.

Some years ago Michael Atherton implied that a selection of young cricketers, with skill and strength of character, should be chosen to represent England come what may. He spotted that the gulf between county cricket and Test cricket had increased and that the only way to counter it was to stomach some barren years while allowing the special selection to grow into their positions as Test match cricketers.

Atherton never got his way because various chairmen of selectors wanted theirs. This is no ones fault, it is the culture of English cricket. There are too many cooks; we are spoiled for choice; quantity rather than quality as the game bungles along without looking beyond the end of its nose. Just a little more than two years ago England won a cracking three match Test in New Zealand. Since then we have been through three captains, two coaches and God knows how many players. Of the 11 that thrilled everyone in Wellington, three batsmen, Atherton, Nick Knight and John Crawley have gone and three bowlers Dominic Cork, Robert Croft and Darren Gough - read Andrew Caddick had Gough been fit - are out on their ear too. It is mighty hard to become a team with that sort of turnover.

Of course the selectors are obliged to choose for immediate success. They may feel there is a public responsibility and that their jobs are on the line if they do not. This is why the culture is wrong. Too many egos are flapping about unable to see the wider picture.

If the selectors are sure that the young players they named yesterday in the party for Edgbaston are the ones to take on the West Indies next summer and to strike back for the Ashes after that, they should be left to mature within the framework of a team governed by the captain, guided by the coach and galvanised by core senior players. The oldest Australian player is 33. Nine of the 11 which won the World Cup are between 29 and 33. They have grown together, are vastly experienced and consistently successful. This is no coincidence.

It is no secret that this observer would have looked outside the current set-up for the captain. However, the Atherton/Stewart mantle of captain and most important batsman has fallen on the shoulders of quite a combative no-nonsense but undoubtedly intelligent Essex man Nasser Hussein.

He is the sort who looks to change the world, which is no bad thing - and will look to bring steel and a greater tactical appreciation to the team. From Keith Fletcher and Graham Gooch he has learnt that relentless practice, shrewd analysis and serious concentration are the principles upon which greater success can be based.

This is the style of the modern Essex. And it is the style in which Hussein implicitly believes. Therefore do not expect England to be a bundle of fun. But instead expect them to up the ante a bit, to intensify in the field and to sell their wicket dearly. It has not been long, but Hussein has started well with his rhetoric. There is smile on a happy face. The eyes seem to have brightened a little and he has had the sense to talk honestly about the shortcomings of English cricket. He should be applauded for this. It would be refreshing to have a leader that told the people as it is. Openness will bring friends and Hussein may yet surprise people with his understanding and handling of sports most difficult job.

Source :: The Electronic Telegraph